St. Paul Downtown Airport lands new restaurant, Holman's Table

After nearly two decades without, St. Paul Downtown Airport, also known as Holman Field, has a restaurant.

Holman’s Table (644 Bayfield St., St. Paul, 612-800-5298, holmans table.com) — named for Charles W. “Speed” Holman, a Minnesota pilot who was inducted into the state’s Aviation Hall of Fame — debuted its breakfast, lunch and dinner operation last month.

St. Paul Downtown Airport is for private planes only, but the public can access the restaurant.

“For breakfast and lunch, we’re really targeting the businesses around the area, people who work in downtown and at the Capitol — we’ve got free parking and easy access,” owner Troy Reding said. “And at night, we want it to be a destination restaurant. It’s sleek, it’s sexy. We turn the lights down and you see the runway lights outside. It’s a really cool environment.”

The last restaurant at the airport closed in 1999. Airfield flooding in the early 2000s kept the building empty. But the levies were repaired several years ago, and recently the Metropolitan Airports Commission began pitching for a restaurant in the space.

Reding, who owns Rock Elm Tavern in Plymouth and previously worked for Blue Plate Restaurant Co. and TGI Fridays, looked at the space — which was “just bare walls” last winter — and signed the lease in July.

Reding says the restaurant will have an American casual-plus menu, with such items as corned beef hash, farro breakfast bowls and pancakes in the morning, to salads, sandwiches, burgers and entrees such as steak and pasta in the afternoons and evenings.

A full bar, beer and wine are also available. There will also be an area dedicated to catering, and an event space that can hold groups of 80 to 100.

Now open

It was a scramble, but Prime 6 (609 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-540-3266) hit its goal to debut Super Bowl weekend, welcoming customers on Friday after hurrying to get the former Rosa Mexicano location in shape.

The 11,000-square-foot footprint, occupying a notable corner of Hennepin Avenue, features a sushi bar, a dining room boasting “world cuisine” and a dance floor, as well as several possible private event spaces.

Currently, Prime 6 offers lunch and dinner but is considering adding a breakfast service, as well. Finishing touches, meanwhile — exterior signs and indoor lighting and artwork — are still in flux. Owner and chef Youssef Darbaki and consultant David Koch plan on holding a grand opening once the finalizations are complete.

Fig + Farro (3001 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., figandfarro.com), a new vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Calhoun Square, has opened its doors, revealing a highly designed, Mediterranean-tinged space in the former Parella home.

The menu includes such items as curried cauliflower, shakshuka (an Israeli egg dish) and a “magic” avocado burrito, along with beer, wine and cocktails.

Around town

Parkway Pizza (parkway pizzamn.com) launched a new vegan menu last weekend at all three of its locations (in Longfellow and northeast Minneapolis and St. Louis Park), partnering with local meat-free meat shop Herbivorous Butcher. The new menu includes vegan cheese toast, specialty pizzas, hoagies such as the unmeatball and vegan chicken Parmesan and a couple of pasta dishes.

North Loop whiskey emporium Dalton & Wade (323 Washington Av. N., 612-236-4020, daltonandwadempls.com) and the Current radio station are launching a new monthly happy hour beginning Thursday. From 5-7 p.m., Current DJ Bill DeVille will delve into his personal LP collection. Dalton & Wade plans to hold the happy hour the second Thursday of each month.